Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has become a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the bipartisan group founded by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.

The more than 1,000 mayors in the coalition, founded in 2006, have pledged to push for laws that keep guns out of criminals' hands. Most of those laws would likely have to be passed at the state or federal level.

Gimenez, a Republican in a nonpartisan post, singled out supporting comprehensive background checks -- including for people who buy guns at shows and online -- in a news release announcing his membership.

"While the The Second Amendment provides Americans with a Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, that right comes with great responsibilities," he said. "One of those responsibilities is supporting background checks that can save lives by keeping guns out of the hands of those who should not have them. I join my fellow Mayors -– from across the political spectrum and across the nation -– in supporting this common-sense action that will help make us all safer."

Forty-five other Florida mayors are group members, including Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado, according to the coalition's website.

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Carlos Gimenez is in rare company. Do a search on MAIG felons. And this is what Gimenez has joined... Be proud, you're in a group with a higher crime rate than Chicago! No wonder they want to ban guns: they might get shot committing a crime!